Darkest Shade of Black
by violinmana
Summary: Crossover with Darker than Black. Naruto hated being a ninja. But even more, he hates being a Contractor. These ideals, these powers, this feeling of suffocating fear... will they ever disappear? Or will it fade into the Darkest Shade of Black?
1. Prologue

Darkest Shade of Black

by violinmana

-----

"Ha... ha... ha..."

A ninja gasped for breath as he jumped between the roofs of the village of Konohagakure, heading straight for the village wall with a large scroll tied to his back. He quickly looked behind him, and threw a smoke bomb at his next landing spot. The chuunin following the intruder all stopped on various roofs a safe distance away from the towering pillar of smoke in a loose circle. A minute later, the smoke faded away into thin air, and the intruder was gone.

"Where is he!?"

"Up there!" One of the pursuers pointed up, as a pale blue glow grew visible around the body of the infiltrator. "Attack him!" As kunai and shuriken thrown by the chuunin headed up towards the Contractor, the air bent and the kunai twisted in mid-air and headed back to their owners. "Damn it! He's a wind type! Dodge!" After the shinobi of Konoha dodged the deadly hail of steel that they had thrown up in the first place, the intruder was gone.

The leader of the chuunin squad sighed, and then reached in his ear and pushed his earpiece. "Operator? Patch me through to Nara Shikamaru of the ISC. We've got a rogue Contractor in Konoha." He sighed again, and prepared to explain how exactly he had lost the Contractor and the Director's research.

-----

Right outside of Konoha walls, the intruder pulled down his mask and gasped for breath, feeling tired after using his power for such a long period of time. He grabbed a stick and started scribbling in the dirt, creating a diagram of the genealogy of pigs. After a short while, he stood up, satisfied with his work, and swept his foot across the diagram, erasing it from the dirt.

"Nice diagram there. So that's your Remuneration. Interesting..."

The shinobi, startled, turned to his right, and gasped. "Uzumaki..." The pale blue glow surrounded his body again, but was suddenly cut short with a kunai slammed to the back of his neck.

"Sorry, too slow. You know, you can't take things that don't belong to you." The voice came from behind the intruder, a pale blue glow surrounding his body. The soon-to-be-dead ninja gasped as the illusion in front of him winked and dissapated into thin air. "I'll be taking your body and that scroll now, I'm pretty sure Shikamaru is eager to get his research back." As the glow dimmed and winked out, Uzumaki Naruto sighed and looked up.

Above their heads in the night sky, a star twinkled, and then fell. A shooting star in the darkest black sky.

-----

No one knew what Orochimaru was up to then. What we do know is that a large... area was created three days before I turned fifteen. We call that area the Orochi Gate, after that traitor Sannin.

The Hokage then, Tsunade, quickly sent Jiraya and me an emergency message to return to the village as soon as possible, in order to make sure that I was safe. Once I got there, I knew it. The village had... changed. People I once knew to be outgoing and lively walked by with cold expressions on their faces. They never even twitched when they saw me. They walked on by, and if I had uttered a greeting, they would return the greeting, expression not changing, and walk on by.

I learned later, that a small amount of the human population all over the world had gained special powers. I wanted to call it a bloodline, but the powers didn't require chakra. Things that were impossible, even to us shinobi, became second-nature to these people. Flying. Telekinesis. Freezing. Controlling the weather. Mind-Reading. All these people shared two things in common: the blank look on their faces, and the fact that after they used their power, they had to do something weird, like write poems. Or eat raw eggs. We called them Contractors, since it seemed like a contract of some sort to us, the normal humans. In exchange for a power, they had to give up their emotions, and do a required action.

However, the most disconcerting thing was the night sky. When I looked up later that night, the stars were arranged completely differently. We later found out, with the founding of the Institution of the Study of Contracts, that each star represented the life of a single contractor. I didn't know that fact that night, when it seemed like there were hundreds of shooting stars. Many in the village, as well as myself, oohed and ahhed at the display, which none of us had ever seen before. It makes me sick to the stomach just thinking of it now. How many people had died, just because they were different? How many people died because they were prejudiced against?

I also later discovered that I am too, a Contractor. One of them. I had to change. Become someone I never wanted to be. It wasn't pretty, becoming who I am today. But hey, complaining just makes it worse, right? After all, black isn't that bad of a color.

----

Prologue: End


	2. Black

Darkest Shade of Black – Black

by violinmana

-----

It's rather odd, you see. The night sky used to be so full of stars, but now, ten years later after the Orochi Incident, there were barely a thousand or so stars in the night sky. Nearly every day for the last ten years, stars have fallen, signifying the end of a Contractor's life. Several new stars have blazed into existence, but nowadays, there is less and less reason to become one. People think these days that accepting a contract is a deal with the devil. They think that they become emotionless husks, acting always on logic and not emotion, disregarding their friends and family. Worst of all are the Remunerations.

In Konoha itself, you can see evidence of Remunerations everywhere. The Hokage Monument shines and glistens when the morning sun hits it. Oddly arranged stones sit on the sidewalk. The Hokage Tower is always covered in graffiti, making it look like a giant penis. At a street corner three blocks from the Tower, there's a deep hole that gets deeper everyday.

Me? I just eat a lot of ramen. Lucky me.

-----

March 14th, 0 A.G. (After Gate)

"Hey, Ero-Sennin! Why did we come back so early? It's only been like..." Naruto scrunched up his face. "Like two years!"

Jiraya sighed. "You idiot, it's only been a year and a half. And for the last time, I don't know why we have to come back so early. Tsunade-hime said it was urgent, and that's it." They were both leaping from tree to tree, having gone top speed towards the village for the better part of a day. Now, there were only two kilometers left, and the pervert sighed in relief that he can finally stop running and go to the bathouses for a nice long soak in the water, and maybe peep on a few girls... Jiraya started giggling out of nowhere, until the blunt end of a kunai hit the back of his head. "What the hell was that for, you stupid brat!"

"We're already at the gate, Ero-Sennin!" Sure enough, he could see the massive gates of Konoha coming up. The gates were closed, but there was a lone chunnin waiting for them. "Shikamaru?!" Naurto and Jiraya landed in front of the gates. "What are you doing here?"

"Nara, what's happened here? The gates haven't been closed since..."

"Since the last of the last Hidden War, I know. The Hokage wants to see you immediately," Shikamaru sighed apathetically. He reached behind him, and not taking his eyes off the two, knocked a specific patten. A door barely large enough to fit Jiraya opened up, and he gestured for the returning shinobi to enter first. "Naruto." He stopped right before he entered the door. "You've grown."

"Hahaha, thanks! Hey, I'm taller than you now!" Naruto, using his hand, had just measured his height against Shikamaru's. "Hey, let's go inside, and then we can talk, alright?" He then walked into Konoha, with Shikamaru in tow, as the door closed and melded into the gate yet again.

"So how was your training trip with Jiraya-sama?" Shikamaru asked interestedly. After all, it wasn't every day that one of the legendary three decided to choose an apprentice.

"It was awsome! We trained a lot, and peeped at so many beautiful girls, and look at this!" Naruto spun around with a skip while waving his hands at his new jacket. "Doesn't it look awsome?"

"Yeah. Very... mature." The lazy one sweatdropped at the orange attire. "You still didn't get rid of the orange, huh?"

"Hell no! Anyways, Ero-Sennin over there," he gestured in the general direction of _forward_, "bought this for me! He said it fits me perfectly!"

"Yeah, I guess it does..." With that, he ended the conversation and stared at the clouds in the sky all the way until we reached the Hokage Tower. Shikamaru waved the two of them off, and headed straight for the hospital.

-----

When Tsunade explained the situation to us, I was estatic that Orochimaru was most likely dead. I think I danced around for two minutes until I remembered who was supposed to be with Orochimaru. Sasuke.

Odds were, that Sasuke was dead. And oddly enough, that didn't even faze me one bit, even with Sakura sobbing into my shoulder. I only felt relief, and a massive craving for ramen. Right at that moment, Tsunade had a mission for us to scout out the remains of Rice Country. Jiraya was made team leader, and Kakashi, along with me, Sakura, Shikamaru, Neji, and Kurenai. Of course, all of us accepted and we were to head out that night.

Nothing could have prepared us for what we found there. Not me, not Kakashi, not even Jiraya. Not even the Kyuubi.

September 23, 11 A.G.

"Man, Naruto, you've really done it this time. You were supposed to bring him back alive, you know. Hokage-sama is going to have a fit over this. Again. At _me_. I know you couldn't care less, being a Contractor, but how about regular humans like us? How troublesome..." Shikamaru sighed after Naruto handed Lee the body and the scroll in front of the ISC. Wordlessly, Lee turned around, hoisted the body and scroll over his shoulder, and turned around and walked through the double doors of the ISC, all while avoiding Naruto's eyes.

"Yo, Shikamaru? What's up with Lee today? He's avoiding me again." Naruto walked into the building behind his superior. He waved to his left. "Hey, Aya, what's up?" The receptionist turned her head away and looked down. "Even her too? Damn, what rumor's spreading around about me now?"

Shikamaru pressed his palm against the wall and pushed a little chakra into it. A seal pattern flared on the wall for an instant, and the hidden door opened. "Same as always. The exact instant you activated your power, a small town in the border of Fire and Rock got annihilated. Rumors are already circulating that it's the 'Demon of Konoha.' Tell me you didn't do it, Naruto."

"I didn't do it."

"Good. I'd hate for this relationship to be more awkward than it already is. Oh yeah, after I debrief you, Hokage-sama wants to see you. She said that she has important information for you. Something about another sighting of the Black Shinigami. Personally, I don't know why you two are so interested in this guy, but it's none of my business." Naruto stiffened slightly, but followed Shikamaru down the flight of stairs. The two continued in silence until they reached the bottom of the stairs and another door.

"Hey Shikamaru, I gotta go now. You know, Hokage stuff and all that."

"But the debriefing..."

"How about this, I'll write up a report for you this time, alright? Kami knows you always prefer reading those to debriefing me." Naruto raised his hand, and was about to vanish when Shikamaru spoke up again.

"Damn it, Naruto! Yondaime-sama wants to speak with you!"

"The old man will just have to wait another day then. I seriously gotta go. Later." And with that parting shot, Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Damn it, he was a Kage Bunshin all along? No wonder he didn't want to meet with Yondaime." Grumbling, the Director opened the door and stepped inside.

-----

The very day I accepted my Contract, the Yondaime showed up in the Hokage's office in a flash of yellow. From what I heard from Jiraya, Tsunade screamed like a little bitch. From what I heard from Tsunade, Jiraya also screamed like a little bitch. Apparently, after they both finished screaming like little bitches, the first thing they did was to verify that it was, in fact, Namikaze Minato. He was so weak and chakra-deprived that they had to cart him to the hospital, secretly of course, to just verify _how_ weak he was. He didn't wake up for a week. And the first thing he said when he woke up was, "Don't accept it, Naruto. Don't accept it."

When I heard the news, I laughed like I had never laughed before. And then, I ran away from Konoha for a year. That was when I met him. The Black Shinigami. He took care of me, taught me how to use my power. If the Kyuubi ever tried to escape from the seal, he would look into my eyes and the Kyuubi would calm down. I've been looking for him ever since he dumped me in the middle of the Hokage's office exactly one year after I ran away. Tsunade screamed like a little bitch. I can swear that she ruptured an eardrum. After she was done screaming, she pummeled me half to death. I spend a week in the hospital in a coma. Like father, like son.

Like father, like son.

-----

March 18th, 0 A.G.

"Woohoo! We're finally here! Muahahaha! The great Naruto-sama never backs down from a challenge!" Naurto laughed and posed like a loon on the one of the tree branches overlooking the border between Rice country and Fire country.

"Yes, Naruto. We're here. Now shut up," Neji said.

"Aw, come on, Neji! Aren't you excited?"

"No. I am not excited. I was never excited, and after you asking me 'Are we there yet?' for _three days straight_, I don't think I can get excited ever again. Now shut up!" Neji was seriously pissed at the orange colored freak of nature. It was as if he had a never ending supply of energy. He wanted some of that energy, if only to sooth his aching limbs. They had be running for four days straight, eating soldier pills and ration bars, while _Naruto _somehow had a way to heat up water on the run and eat cup ramen on the go. In fact, he was heating another cup up. "Give me some of that ramen!"

"No way, Neji! Are you kidding me? This ramen is all mine. Go get your own ramen!" He jumped down onto the open fields of Rice country and started walking towards the center. Taunting Neji, he pulled the cover off, snapped his chopsticks, and ate the salty noodles slowly, savoring the taste. After he was done with his first bite, he started talking again, "You will never learn the secret of..." His cup ramen had left his hands and slowly started speeding towards the center of Rice country. "Neji. Did you see that?" He was still holding his chopsticks.

Neji nodded. He pressed a small button on his choker, connecting him to the audio network. "Jiraya-sama, Kakashi-sempai. We've found something." A few seconds later, he heard several bursts of static in his earbud. "Jiraya-sama? Kakashi-sempai?" No response but static. "Damn! Naruto! Get back here! We've been cut off!"

Naruto lept back to the treeline, biting his thumb as he went. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Nothing appeared. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" No poof of smoke, no toads, nothing. He crossed his fingers. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" One measly puff of smoke later, a constipated-looking Naruto clone appeared, threw up, and puffed away. "Neji, my summoning is cut off, and I can't use clones. What the hell do we do now?"

"What do we do? We find them, that's all." The newly promoted jonin closed his eyes, and then opened them again, the Byakugan coming into full effect. "ARGH!" He turned off his doujutsu, and held the sides of his head. "My eyes..." As he opened his eyelids again, Naruto could see the red starting to infect the previously white eyes. The infection spread, making his eyes red with blood. He raised one shaking finger. "There, they're over there..." With that, Neji fainted.

"Neji? Neji!"

-----

That was the moment when I found my despair. The endless pit that denied all hope.

I picked up Neji and took him towards where he pointed. The rest of the group couldn't summon anything either. We all experimented, and found that we could only expend the minimum of chakra to keep our bodies alive and enhance our internal muscles. With that note, Kakashi was left behind with Kurenai to experiment with the odd properties of the area while the rest of us headed back to Konoha. I had made sure to tell the two jonin about my ramen cup.

Halfway back to Konoha, we made camp in a small clearing, and Jiraya poured some water on Neji's face to wake him up. When he opened his eyes, we had all gasped. It wasn't pretty. His previously white eyes had turned completely red. I noticed that they were a darker red than before. Neji paled, and then started screaming. Sakura had to hit a pressure point to make him unconcious again, then started examining his eyes.

She told us the bad news. Neji's eyes were completely filled with blood, and that it was thickening, clotting as we speak. She couldn't do anything for him. He was blind. When she said that, Shikamaru figeted for a short while, and then pulled off Neji's forehead protector.

The previously green Caged-bird seal on Neji's forehead... it had burned to black.

That was the day when I accepted that nothing was according to plan. I couldn't protect one of my friends. Again, I failed.

-----

Black: End


	3. Darker: Part 1

Darker: Part 1

-----

April 17, 12 A.G.

"I'll give you one more chance. Hand over the document and I'll let you go. I swear this on my pride as a Shinobi."

"Pride as a shinobi?" Naruto scoffed. "What pride? All you have is the pride of a Contractor. Or can you even call that pride? You don't intend to spare me. You intend to kill me as soon as I hand over this document, aren't you?"

"Of course no-" The voice died as a kunai slid across the Contractor's throat, cutting both veins and spraying the blood in a thick wave across Naruto's face.

He blinked, emotionless. "You lose." With that parting remark, Naruto melted away into mist, leaving the blood that was previously on his face to fall towards the ground. The only evidence left was the Contrator's body and the blood that pooled into the two footprints that he left behind. "Just as it should be."

-----

April 18, 12 A.G.

Shikamaru sat on one of the stools of Ichiraku Ramen, patiently waiting. Or patiently snoring on the counter. Either way, when a hand grasped his shoulder, he reacted instinctively and caught the person with his shadow. Rubbing his eyes, he turned his towards whoever decided to inturrpt his nap. "Naruto. You called me out here on one of my off-days, and then had the gall to be late. What exactly do you want?"

"Ah... nothing. Just wanted to hang out with an old friend." The Naruto trapped in the shadow spoke, and then swirled into smoke. A voice whispered into Shikamaru's right ear, "Right?"

He jumped out of the stand, freaked out. "Damn it, Naruto! Don't _do_ that! Are you _trying_ to give me a heart attack?" Much to his aggrivation, Naruto was placing his order as he spoke. He sighed and sat down on his stool. "So..." Naruto turned his head to the side. "What exactly did you call me here for?"

"I noticed that your jonin vest is getting... well, it's falling apart. So, I commissioned a new one for you!" Naruto unsealed the vest from his wristband and handed it to him. "Happy Birthday!"

"Naruto.. my birthday was three months ago. Remember? You got me that stripper."

"Oh yeah!" Naruto chuckled. "Good times."

"I was in the hospital for a WEEK because of you."

"So think of this as a make-up present!"

"I seriously can't listen to this anymore. See you around later, Naruto. And thanks." Without waiting for Naruto's answer, he got up with the vest under his arm and left the stand. 'Damn it, Naruto. You knew this was my off-day, and you give me more work to do.'

Behind him, Naruto's smile quickly became a frown. 'Shikamaru, I hope that research is what you need.' After finishing his bowl of ramen, he stood up and melted away.

-----

Shikamaru is a smart guy. He's probably the smartest person I've ever met, but lazy as hell. Our first mission after we came back ended in a disaster. Neji became non-responsive to anything, so we had to put him in the hospital. It seemed like he was in a coma, except that he wasn't. He was just... there. Shikamaru took that very personally. I think that out of the all of us, he's the one who cares the most about the Konoha Twelve, as we were called. Because of that mission, and his quest to 'save' Neji, he's become less and less lazy until he works as hard as Rock Lee.

He thinks I'm crazy. And I am. But out of everyone, I trust him the most. He's the only one who won't try to manipulate me because I'm a Contractor. He tells me what he wants, straight up. I appreciate that honesty. Out of all twelve of us, I think that we understand each other the most. It grew to the point where he, a human, and me, a contractor, became best friends.

Tsunade-sama made him the director of the ISC when he was 16 years old. Lucky bastard got a promotion to jonin the same day he was ordered to head the division. Over the years, he's proved himself in so many ways that he is basically the right hand of the Hokage. The citizens love him just due to the belief that "Shikamaru-sama keeps the Contractors in line!" Out of all of us, he's the one with the most influence in Konoha, outside of the Hokage herself. If he decides he wants to become the Hokage, he can. He's just got that much support in the village. And if he does, I'll be his right hand. A Contractor will have a position of power in Konoha.

Hey, I can dream, can't I?

-----

April 21, 12 A.G.

Shikamaru's fists pounded the table in front of him, blowing the undecipered documents away as he unknowingly expelled chakra from himself. "This... this can't be!" He opened up a drawer on the desk to pick up a sake bottle with shaking hands, and then placed the bottle next to a saucer. He then drank from the bottle directly, his shaking limb splattering sake all over himself and the documents. After a few minutes, as the shaking subsided, he pressed a button on the desk and spoke into the microphone. "Aya, call Hokage-sama and Jiraya-sama and tell them to come over in ten minutes for an important meeting. Do it immediately."

"Sir? Are you al-"

"Just** _DO IT, AYA_**!"

"Yes sir."

Shikamaru leaned back in his chair and put his hand over his face, staring up at the ceiling of his office. "This is going to suck."

-----

Shikamaru was waiting in the lobby when the Hokage showed up with her personal ANBU. "Shikamaru? Why the hell are you drinking at nine in the morning? And why did you call me here so early?"

Shikamaru took another long swig of his sake bottle. "Where's Jiraya?"

"Not here. I sent him to Lightning Country to retrieve a document for you."

"Come to my office, where we can talk more freely, and I'll tell you what I... what we just discovered." He stood up and slowly limped to his office. "Leave your ANBU behind. They don't need to hear this."

-----

When they entered the room, they found Naruto taking a nap on one of the couches, his feet up on the coffee table. The sound of the door opening had woken him up, and he blearily rubbed his eyes. "Shikamaru? Oh!" He stood up straight. "Hokage-sama!"

"Naruto, please. Don't call me that in this room. We're all equals here."

"Where's Jiraya?"

"I sent him to Lightning Country a few days ago to get a document detailing their research on Contractors."

Shikamaru settled into the seat next to Naruto's and sighed. "Sakura, Naruto gave me that scroll three whole days ago. Didn't you get my memo?"

He held up his left hand when Sakura opened her mouth. "Sakura-chan, let's wait until Jiraya's here until we start talking, alright? We'd rather not explain this twice." Naruto frowned, then bit his thumb and slammed it onto the coffee table, summoning a toad. "Hey Gamakichi, tell Jiraya to get back here immediately, alright? I'll summon a transport toad."

"Sure thing, Naruto." With that, the orange toad disappeared. Naruto frowned at his healed thumb, and then bit it again and summoned a small green toad on the floor next to the table.

After a minute had passed, the toad's mouth opened and defying all known laws of physics, a hand larger than the toad slipped out and grabbed at the edge of the table and pulled. The transport toad croaked once and then poofed away. "Alright, you brat. You had better tell me why you didn't tell me that you had already gotten that scroll. I wasted two days traveling on the road for a _urgent_ assignment."

"Jiraya." The giant man started, then looked at the pink-haired Hokage. She patted the seat next to her. "Sit. And listen to why these two... summoned us here." Naruto rolled his eyes while Shikamaru snorted. He did as she asked and sat down. "Now. Start talking."

Shikamaru sighed deeply, then placed his bottle on the table, next to Naruto's feet. He leaned forward, placed his hands on the table, and said, "The Village Hidden in the Clouds have discovered how to give Contractors back their chakra."

Sakura and Jiraya both started, then stopped. Nearly half a minute passed before Jiraya spoke up, his voice calm and measured. "How? We all know that Contractors can't use their chakra, with the exception of Naruto here, and that's only because..."

"Only because I have the Kyuubi sealed inside my stomach. I'm not a real Contractor, just because of that."

"Wait, what? I always thought that Naruto was a Contractor..."

"But I'm not. You get it now, Sakura-chan? Those emotional outbursts when Tsunade-baachan died... those were real. Not an act."

"And you two knew? And didn't tell me?" She glared at Shikamaru and Jiraya until they looked suitably cowed, then just frowned. "Go on, Shikamaru."

"It was apparently their study of their own two Jinchurriki that gave them the idea how to... do it. I don't really want to even say this out loud, but..." Shikamaru looked positively sickened. "They... sealed the souls of civilians into the Contractors. That way, the remunerations that the Contractors have to go through are forced upon the sealed souls. And then, they regain use of their chakra since then, the contract supresses the chakra of the soul. And then, worst of all, the civilian's soul will dissipate into nothingness after two weeks. Then, they seal another soul into the Contractor."

Sakura's face was ashen as she heard what the research had implied. "But... how awful..."

Jiraya's face was grim. "Do you have a copy of that seal? I need to study it."

"It's over there on my desk. Look through it all you want. Naruto's already been through all of it and he can't find a countermeasure." Jiraya stood up and headed towards the desk. "Naruto's research is there too, in case you want to study that too." He nodded absent-mindedly, already making copies of the seal into his notebook.

"Shikamaru... I have to get back to my office. I need to start planning for a war now. One more thing. Nothing, _Nothing_ about this meeting or what you discovered will be said outside of this room, do you understand?" The three men nodded solemnly. She then exited the room cursing under her breath.

"So Naruto, what are you going to do now?"

"I need to find the Black Shinigami. I need to train, if there's a war coming up." Naruto disappeared in a flash of yellow.

"So, Shikamaru, are you still going to progress with the plan for destroying the Gate?"

"At this point in time, I have to accelerate the plans for that."

"Don't you think that Naruto deserves to know that?"

Shikamaru was slient as he picked up his sake bottle and tipped the last of the sake into his mouth. He had no ready answer.

**-----  
**

I tried once, when I was younger. I tried very hard to find the Black Shinigami, but could find no trace of him anywhere, even the places that we had trained. The clearing that we had made camp, it was completely tainted with my presence alone. I began to suspect that the entire training had taken place inside my mind, or that I hallucinated the man. It was impossible, no, improbable, that anyone _alive _has that much skill to completely and utterly mask chakra and the presence that gave any human away. That is, if he is human.

Arriving at the clearing where I had first met the man, I had looked around for a while, straining my senses to detect any other form of life aside from those that emanated natural chakra. Lost, I created nine Kage Bunshins to scour the area and widen the search, and then sat down and meditated. Days passed, with the Kyuubi's youki giving sustenance in this environment. Finally, the last clone popped, the last image firmly imprinted in my mind.

And then, I turned around and asked the first thing on my mind.

-----

May 3, 12 A.G.

"Are you real?"

The figure clad in black tilted his head to the side with a faint smile on the lips. "Maybe. Maybe not. But that doesn't really matter now, does it?"

Naruto sat down heavily on a fallen log. "I suppose not," he muttered under his breath.

"You come here for training. And perhaps more. Answers, is it? Do you even know your question?"

"I need to grow stronger. To protect everyone. To protect _Konoha_."

The Black Shinigami sat down as well. "Against the Kumo threat?" Naruto nodded. "That is not correct, Naruto. What you really want to do, what your heart desires, is different. You want to save... the entire world. Am I not correct?" He continued talking after a brief pause. "Then, I suppose, it's time I show you my face and tell you my name."

As the man lifted his hood, showing twin pinwheel eyes and dignified lines under the eyes, Naruto's breath hitched. "You-"

Uchiha Itachi nodded. "Yes. Me. Uchiha Itachi. Tell me, Uzumaki Naruto. How far are you willing to go to save the world? How far are you willing to damn yourself, to immerse yourself in darkness? How much are you willing to sacrifice? Your friends, your powers, even your humanity? Tell me, Uzumaki Naruto, tell me." The tomoe in his eyes morphed into the Mangekyou, spinning wildly. "Are you willing to become someone like me, the one who has immersed himself in the Black?"

END Darker: Part 1


End file.
